Red by Kate Serine
With a book that started with the same feel as the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit (only with coarser language), Kate Serine captured the essence of Fairy Tales and known fictional characters amazingly well. The first in a five-part series, Serine takes the reader on a journey through the eyes of Tess “Red” Little, otherwise known as Little Red Riding Hood.
This story was an excellent mix of nostalgia and excitement to see these figures remained in the real world, but also kept the essence of a cozy mystery, with only a few slightly darker turns to that category.
The characters growth was excellently done, and felt very natural with the progression of the book. The only part that I initially raised my hackles about was actually one of the more insightful moments, even without the foreshadowing. I’ll admit that I was getting upset with Red during a particular scene or two during the story, but I realized it was because she was making a more realistic-esque choice, still compressed into the constraints of a work of fiction. She was acting outside of the expectations of a typical romance novel heroine, and outside of the expectations that I had of her non-fairy tale persona. However, the decision she made, and more so the actions she took, were actually quite relatable. And the uncomfortableness that I felt at first, was more about my own choices and decisions being reflected back at me in an over-the-top manner. However, they fit with her character as it was introduced, and made a great baseline to show her future growth and inner strength as the story progressed.
As Red faces her challenges, both internal and external, in the story, her character shows definitive growth. And, the most amazing part, was how natural that growth felt and blended in to the story. There were no major jumps or out-of-character moments for the sake of plot continuation or drama. Her character doesn’t necessarily change, at least not who she is at the core. She grows and becomes a better and more true version of herself, and as this happens, you can see it reflected in her interactions with the other characters and in the decision she makes and the thoughts shared.
I am really looking forward to continuing this series and reading the next four installments of the Transplanted Tales. However, I did learn from my stint with a certain historical romance series that is still a read-in-progress, that I can’t just marathon through a book series. That level of binging definitely wears me out and I don’t pay as much attention as the stories deserve. So, I will be switching gears and reading something by a different author before returning to the next Tale in the “Here and Now”.